Ballinlough 2-10 Clonard 1-06
Clonard made the long journey to a wet and miserable but pitch perfect Ballinlough this evening, but there was to be no ill effects of the journey as they raced into five point lead in the opening ten minutes hitting 1-02 to no reply. Ballinlough on the other hand created plenty of chances in the opening period but couldn’t keep the ball between the posts, sending no less than six balls wide in a ten minute period.
Brandon Brunton finally got the home side off the mark in the 12th minute with a pointed free, and he was to rely on the placed ball once again moments later to score Ballinlough’s second point. Darragh Brady added a third point in the 16th minute before Brunton was accurate once again from a free in the 22nd minute to leave just a solitary point between the teams.
But Ballinlough were finally finding their rhythm and when Darren O’Higgins found himself free in front of goal there was only one place the ball was headed. Credit to the Clonard goalie he denied O’Higgins superbly but was unable to stop the rebound as Darren pounced on the ball again to ensure it crossed the line this time.
The goal seemed to awaken Clonard who had been rather lacklustre since the tenth minute, and they kicked the next two scores, a free in the 25th minute, followed by a score from play a moment later to leave the sides level. But Ballinlough were to take the final score of the half and it was the smallest man on the field Rory Smith who sent the ball sailing over the bar in the 27th minute to leave the Lough with the slenderest of leads when Referee Éamon Barry blew the half time whistle.
Clonard came out of the blocks the sharpest in the second half putting Ballinlough under pressure in the opening minutes but Alan Gibney, who has been superb all year, pulled off a double save to deny the visitors a certain goal. As they have been prone to do this season, when Alan makes a super save, he also sets up a perfect attack with his clearance, and this evening was no different as the lads moved the ball through the hands, with Charlie Lynch, Rory Smith and Darragh Brady all getting their hands on the ball, until it finally landed in the lap of Darren O’Higgins who made no mistake this time and sent the ball flying past the Clonard netminder at the first time of asking.
Brandon Brunton added a superb point from play in the 33rd minute before Clonard got their first score of the half two minutes later, also from play. The little man Rory Smith was playing like a man 6ft tall, out in front of his man and winning ball, and he doubled his tally in the 36th minute with a great point from play. Liam Tunney who was showing for every ball that came his way, but struggled with the wetness to retain possession, held onto the ball when it mattered most, and added his name to the scoresheet with a point to stretch Ballinlough’s lead out to six points.
That was to be the last score for about thirteen minutes as Clonard repeatedly came on the attack, seeking a goal to get them back into the game, but they were consistently denied with Fionn McDonnell putting on a heroic display in full-back, ably assisted by Ciaran Ryan, John McCullen and Shane Lynch, who hassled and harried for every breaking ball.
Clonard finally got the scoreboard working again with a point in the 49th minute, their first score since the 35th minute and only their second score of the half to lower the deficit to five. But it was to be Ballinlough’s night and the super accurate Brandon Brunton was to kick two more sensational scores from play in added time to leave the home side seven points clear when Éamon Barry finally decided to call time on this game.
The honour of presenting the Shield to the winning Captain, Will Sherlock, fell to Ballinlough GFC native and club legend, Sean Smyth, who has presided over numerous juvenile teams in the club over the years, so it was fitting for him to present a winning shield back to his own club.
There was to be one more surprise for our victorious team as they were leaving the field, when our Senior team took time out of their training session to give the lads a Guard of Honour off the field, and you could see it in the eyes of the young men walking off, that each and every one of them hoped one day they would be the ones standing on that pitch as a Ballinlough senior player representing their club and parish with pride.
Ballinlough Scorers: B.Brunton (0-06(3f), D.O’Higgins 2-00, R.Smyth (0-02), D.Brady and L.Tunney (0-01) each
Ballinlough Squad: A.Brady, A.Gibney, B.Brunton, C.Lynch, C.Ryan, C.Monaghan,D.Brady, D.O’Higgins, F.McDonnell, J.McCullen L.Tunney, L.Donegan,M.Tynan, N.O’Reilly, P.Hand, R.Smith, S.Lynch, T.McKeown, W.Sherlock
Referee: Éamon Barry
Clonard Report
Clonard 1-6 Ballinlough 2-10
In their second final of the year Clonard’s Under 14 boys made the long journey to Ballinlough to play the home side in the Roinn 5 shield final on an extremely wet August evening. Credit to the hosts though on their excellent pitch, one of the finest in the county, as there was never a question of it being unplayable, the first of a few similarities between the two clubs.
A question could be asked however as to why a final is not played on a neutral venue, and at a venue of relative equal distance from both participating clubs. The official line says tells us that it’s because of Dunganny’s unavailability due to remediation works, and therefore it’s not just Dublin who get home advantage in important championship games.
Another similarity between both clubs is their now independent fielding of a juvenile team after many years of amalgamation. Clonard previously fielded as Clonard\Longwood and Ballinlough as St. Olivers with Moylagh and St. Brigids. However, Clonard’s panel did appear numerically lower, lighter and younger than their opponents as they fielded the bare minimum of 13 with no subs, missing only Kayden Plunkett who flew out on holidays earlier in the day.
So Clonard took to the field as underdogs, having not competed in the Summer League due to some players unavialability but still being promoted to the higher division following their Spring League campaign which took them all the way to that final in June. But no-one told these boys they were underdogs because as usual this group were not found wanting in the commitment or talent departments.
They stormed in to an early lead to notch 1-2 inside the first ten minutes holding Ballinlough scoreless, who managed only four wides, due in the main to intense pressure from the committed Clonard defenders. Clonard’s scores came from the boots Niall McHugh and Kai Moloney with two excellent points from play and a thumping finish to the net from Ciaran Murray following a superb pass from Daniel Johns.
At the back Clonard’s defence were heroic, full back Andrew Hannon was marshalling the tall Ballinlough full forward brilliantly restricting him to feed off scraps throughout. Rourke Shaw’s tigerish tackling turned over possession for his team on numerous occasions and Dylan Duignan’s positioning, handling, and distribution was a joy to behold.
However, as expected Ballinlough brought themselves back into the game as they scored the next four points in a row with Clonard now kicking the wides in what was a role reversal of the opening ten minutes. Then the home side struck with a crucial goal of their own as their nippy forward broke free on goal. His initial effort was wonderfully saved by Kian Campbell, but the broken ball was scrambled to the net at the second time of asking despite Andrew Hannon’s last gasp attempted block on the goal line.
But once again Clonard responded with their usual determined character, character beyond their tender years with nine of the thirteen players still eligible for this age grade next year, and six eligible for two more years. Again, Niall McHugh and Kai Moloney pointed efforts with their second scores to level matters before Ballinlough responded with a point on the half time whistle, leaving it Clonard 1-4 Ballinlough 1-5.
After four minutes of the second half Ballinlough struck with their second goal and many of the onlookers would have thought that Clonard’s challenge would now surely fade, but not this bunch, as they matched the skills and efforts of their more physical opposition all over the field. Captain John Doyle pointed a sublime effort from play and Niall McHugh was denied what looked like a certain goal when the keeper managed to block his effort on the line on two occasions.
More goal chances followed for Clonard as Ciaran Murray was enjoying great possession in the final third as he whistled one effort wide inches outside the right post with another blocked by the now very busy Ballinlough goalkeeper. Young Murray did get some reward for his efforts and fine running with a point in response to two points at the other end for the home side.
Clonard continued to push forward with strong running from Darragh Kirrane and Krystian Szarnas who set up plenty of attacks for their teammates. In the forwards Aaron Scott and Shane Kelly worked their proverbial socks off and weren’t found wanting when the ball came their way. Predictably though the constant Clonard pressure and pursuit of a goal left opportunity at the other end as Ballinlough finished with the last two scores of the game, leaving the final score-line Clonard 1-6 Ballinlough 2-10.
It was disappointment for this group once again as local stalwart Sean Smyth presented the shield to the local captain of the victorious Ballinlough team. The Clonard boys shook hands and clapped their opposition, then posed for their group photo. As usual they conducted and presented themselves impeccably and are a credit to their club, family and friends. It was then time to take the long drive back home with an important stop-off in Morans ‘The Hill’ for refreshments. It was enjoyed in a special atmosphere, created by a special group and many thanks to James Moran and staff for so kindly sponsoring the food and welcoming everyone back to such a 'homely' location.
All that was left for everyone was to retire home to bed and reflect on what has been a wonderful year. This group has improved with every game and punched above their weight so many times when little was expected of them. Credit to their coaching team of Paddy McHugh, David Hannon and Niall Walsh who dedicated their time and vast experience to these wonderful boys. At the end of this night and year, all players, parents and supporters put their head on their pillows feeling very proud and justifiably hopeful of future success. This year was character building. Well done to all involved agus Cluain Ioraird abú.
Clonard: Kian Campbell, Darragh Kirrane, Andrew Hannon, Rourk Shaw, Dylan Duignan, Krystian Szarnaz, John Doyle (0-1), Ciaran Murray (1-1), Aaron Scott, Kai Moloney (0-2), Shane Kelly, Daniel Johns, Niall McHugh (0-2 0-1f).
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